Affairs of the Arts: Britain opens up a cultural divide with Russia

The Russian Embassy in London said that it was aware that UK government officials were refusing to take part in events related to the Year of Culture. Source: Vladimir Pesnya / RIA Novosti

The British Government has cancelled its involvement in the UK-Russian Year of Culture, the British Embassy in Moscow confirmed. However, the British Council will continue to oversee the UK programme in Russia. Earlier, Scotland’s Herald newspaper reported that the British and Scottish governments had withdrawn their support for the year-long programme of cultural exchanges with Russia over the events in Ukraine.

Most of the major events have already taken
place. Of the eight British theatre companies scheduled to perform in Russia,
seven have already visited, and five of the six regional projects have already
been completed.

Coming up in the UK are Dmitriy Krymov’s
rendition of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Barbican, and the
world premiere of a joint Russian-Scottish production of “The War” at the
Edinburgh Festival. Ironically, the play directed by Vladimir Pankov explores
the deep psychological and physical impact of conflict between states on
culture and the arts, and how we can help provide a vision for the future
through art.

Organisers and performers hope that the
absence of ministers will not affect attendances at the show.

Cultural contacts

Actually, ‘there has been no UK ministerial
or senior official attendance at the Year of Culture events since March”, Paul
de Quincey, Director of the British Council in Russia told RBTH. “The Year of
Culture events have, however, taken place and will continue to take place
according to the programme. It is important that we maintain the people-to-people cultural contact.’

Indeed, when governments struggle to
communicate in a cultured way they should artists, poets and museum curators a
chance to restore sanity in international affairs.

This was true 90 years ago when
Anglo-Soviet diplomatic relations, established in 1924, almost immediately fell
foul to British party politics. It was against this background that the Society
for Cultural Relations between the Peoples of the British Commonwealth and the
USSR was established in London in the same year. It was founded by the likes of
Virginia Wolf, Maynard Keynes and Bertrand Russell with a remit to keep
cultural, educational and artistic links with Russia going even at a time of
political disagreement, says Charles Stewart, vice chairman of what is now The
Society for Co-operation in Russian and Soviet Studies (SCRSS).

“The most important thing is that the
events (of the UK-Russia Year of
Culture) continue”, he told RBTH. “It’s a negative development that ministerial
and senior official support has been withdrawn. We believe that cultural and
educational exchange should be supported at all levels. But I think that such
exchange is not entirely dependent on official support. I think there will be
continued grass roots support for educational and cultural exchange.”

Grassroots relations

Such exchanges are primarily for the
benefit of ordinary people in Britain and Russia, says Anton Chesnokov, UK
Representative of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian body that promotes cultural,
educational and artistic links with the world. He is is not formally
responsible for the Year of Russian Culture in the UK, since he has a much
longer-term remit of supporting cultural and wider humanitarian ties between
the people of the two countries. Lack of official backing from one side will
make these grass-root exchanges even more important and valuable, Mr. Chesnokov
told RBTH.

One Russian participant in the UK-Russia
Year of Culture is the Russkiy Mir (Russian World) Foundation, set up to
promote the Russian language around the world. Aleksey Gromyko, head of its European programmes, told RBTH
that he doubted the absence of politicians would make a cultural event less
important. “Some politicians,” he quipped, “have come to believe that politics
should dominate all other spheres of life. Suppose actors refuse to perform
because they have spotted a politician in the audience.”

The Russian Embassy in London said that it
was aware that UK government officials were refusing to take part in events
related to the Year of Culture. However, a spokesman said: “We do not have any
information that the UK government stands for the termination of the Year of
Culture. Thus, all the concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events are held
in London at the level of public, which is still highly interested in promoting
cultural exchanges between our two countries.”

Jenny Carr, chairperson of the
Scotland-Russia Forum in Edinburgh, said that there would be several events
from Russia and about Russia at the Edinburgh Festival. She added: “Cultural
exchange is very important in times of political disagreement: it helps
understanding of the roots of political behaviour and is a vital channel of
communication.”

Read more on UK-Russia Year of Culture on RBTH special section The Kompass